This is officially the most beautiful piece of skincare I own.
The box the mask came in is beautiful - white and gold and elegant. Once you open it though, it goes from elegant to luxurious, with the mask being contained in a matte gold orb with shiny gold strip around the middle where you twist it open.
The mask itself is thick and creamy with a hint of rose scent. The mask comes with a spatula, which is a nice touch, but I use my fingers as they are cleansed before I apply the mask.
As per instructions, I spread the mask over my face - and I wasn't skimpy with product - I had a decently thick layer. Then I sat back and read my book for fifteen minutes/did housework/watched videos on the internet. During this period I noticed my skin tingled (not uncomfortably) and had this cooling sensation. After the fifteen minutes was up I looked in the mirror and was amazed to see the product had been sucked into my skin - no creaminess was to be seen.
I washed my face with warm water and the results were obvious. After each mask my skin felt super smooth, very plump, glowing, and makeup application post-mask was a breeze.
My only niggle was that when I used this too close together (two days apart) my skin sported a couple of tiny whitehead pimples the next day, which I don't usually get. If I space out the time between uses (once every four/five days) this does not happen. It said to use regularly on the box, but I think it's a case of finding what fits you.
Would I recommend it? If your skin needs a boost of nourishment, absolutely! I think it would make a gorgeous gift idea for the more mature lady in your life, too.
Having never tried bee venom products before, I was intruiged to try this mask. I was half expecting "tourist" type packaging on this product due to the Manuka Honey. With a honeycomb pattern on front, back and top, the bee logo with gold adds a classier touch. Ingredients clearly listed on the side, and great to note this is paraben free. Manuka Honey is listed fourth so that leads me to believe it has a good honey content, not just a token amount. Vitamins A&E always great for skin, I did wonder about the inclusion of menthol however. Opposite side has a blurb about the benefits of bee venom, being anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-aging in skin care, and the stimulation of venom to help circulation to help trigger collagen & elastin. Rear of box has similar directions, and a Patch Test Caution, which would be advisable to follow.
I was quite surprised to open the box to discover a gorgeous two-tone gold, albeit plastic, orb container which gives a beauty luxury effect, with the simple Alpine Silk Logo and description of product along the edge. Comes with a small plastic spatula, which its great to keep the product hygienic in between uses. Unscrewing the top of the orb, a plastic hygiene lid/seal is easily removed to reveal a very thick, rich cream which has a pleasant, slighly honey fragrance. One small scoop of the spatula was more than enough to provide a thick full face coverage. It is very luxuriously thick, and glided on beeutifully. There was quite a strong initial tingle, but this wasn't overly concerning as I had made sure my skin was thorougly cleaned and exfoliated first in order to ensure the best possible results of the mask, so was expecting full delivery. The tingle disappeared after a few minutes. - I tried the mask again 3 days later, without exfoliating first, and the tingle effect was barely noticeable. The mask went from white to opaque within a minute or two. After 15 minutes, I rinsed the mask off, and immediately thought my skin looked plumper, more hydrated and nourished, and stayed this way for a good 2 days. I really liked the feel of the mask on my skin, it was quite cooling, which I think may have been down to that Menthol. Even though it is an incredibly rich mask, my skin didn't suffer any breakouts or clogged pores at all. I will definately enjoy using this mask on a regular basis. It's great to find a mask that really nourishes mid-40's skin.
Tips: I used on the backs of my hands as they have been quite dry, and they looked & felt much smoother after for a couple of days.